Today I Learned (TIL)

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/FullOGreenPeaness on 2025-02-26 13:14:05.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TMWNN on 2025-02-26 12:46:42.

Original Title: TIL William Shatner told Star Trek fans to "get a life". In a 1986 'Saturday Night Live' skit, the actor tells obsessed fanboys "it's just a TV show!" The SNL segment accurately portrayed Shatner's feelings about Trekkies, who had unrelentingly pestered him since the original 1960s 'Star Trek'.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TMWNN on 2025-02-26 12:05:49.

Original Title: TIL one of the most successful Australian television exports is about ... a kangaroo. 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo' is unusually intelligent, able to "open doors, operate a radio and pick up all manner of objects". 300 million people in 128 countries watched three seasons and a movie from 1968 to 1970.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/SteO153 on 2025-02-26 11:36:48.

Original Title: TIL about Duncraig railway station in Scotland. Opened in 1897, it was supposed to close in 1964 as part of rail network restructuring. However, it reopened in 1976, after local train drivers refused to acknowledge the station's closure for the intervening 11 years. The station is still open today

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/gullydon on 2025-02-26 10:32:38.

Original Title: TIL six Italian scientists were convicted of manslaughter in 2012 and sentenced to 6 years in jail for making inaccurate predictions about the L'Aquila earthquake which killed 309 people in 2009. They were later acquitted on appeal.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/milkpuffs on 2025-02-26 09:44:58.

Original Title: TIL of Užupis, a self-proclaimed independent nation that declared its independence on April Fool's. Included in the Constitution are "everyone has the right to love a cat" and "a dog has the right to be a dog."

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/FionaWalliceFan on 2025-02-26 06:25:55.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/FullOGreenPeaness on 2025-02-26 05:43:57.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/RippingLegos__ on 2025-02-26 04:54:48.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/crono09 on 2025-02-26 04:04:01.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TheUnknown_General on 2025-02-26 03:30:52.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/MarkEsmiths on 2025-02-26 03:10:16.

Original Title: TIL Neil Armstrong saved a bag of parts from the Eagle, the spacecraft he flew to the first lunar landing. It is believed he didn't tell anyone of it's existence and it wasn't discovered until his wife cleaned out his closet after he died.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/ksye on 2025-02-26 01:07:57.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/amateurfunk on 2025-02-25 22:21:06.

Original Title: TIL that the U.S. planned to build the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Superconducting Super Collider, in Texas. It was meant to surpass CERN’s LHC but was canceled in 1993 after about $2 billion were spent.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Spykryo on 2025-02-25 22:16:30.

Original Title: TIL in 1702, a British admiral attempted to attack a French naval squadron, but some of his captains refused to help, leading to the French escaping. The French admiral later wrote to the British admiral recommending that he execute the cowardly captains. He took his advice, shooting two of them.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/TriviaDuchess on 2025-02-25 21:00:58.

Original Title: TIL that Tom Noe, a Republican fundraiser and rare coin dealer, was given $50M in Ohio state funds to invest in rare coins. Instead, he spent it on luxury cars, trips, and illegal campaign donations, leading to 29 felony convictions and major corruption reforms.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Septembuary on 2025-02-25 19:40:44.

Original Title: TIL in 2005 a Sparrow knocked over domino bricks in a convention hall in The Netherlands. The incident led to death threats aimed at the hunter hired to kill the bird, and a bounty offered to whoever knocked over additional dominos.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/IchBinMalade on 2025-02-25 19:32:08.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/here_is_no_end on 2025-02-25 18:14:38.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Away-Lynx8702 on 2025-02-25 16:35:26.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/NOWiEATthem on 2025-02-25 16:24:49.

Original Title: TIL that Thomas Derrick was one of 24 sailors sentenced to death after sacking a city, but the Earl of Essex spared him on the condition that he execute his comrades. Derrick went on to become a professional executioner, killing over 3,000 men over his career, including the Earl of Essex.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/DTPVH on 2025-02-25 15:58:01.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/Bigred2989- on 2025-02-25 15:42:13.

Original Title: TIL in 2009 a couple in Colorado claimed their son had been blown away in a homemade balloon, starting a statewide manhunt that gained worldwide attention. It was later revealed to be an elaborate hoax as their child was hiding in their home. The incident led to criminal charges for the parents.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/charmer143 on 2025-02-25 14:48:57.

The original post: /r/todayilearned by /u/tyrion2024 on 2025-02-25 14:03:49.

Original Title: TIL two men conned €55m from wealthy people by asking for aid posing as French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in online meetings by wearing a silicone mask of Le Drian & sitting at a fake official desk. They only duped 3 of 150 targets, but one wired $47m, thinking it was ransom money for journalists